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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27079963">Untold Tales From The Borderlands</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andaxay/pseuds/Andaxay'>Andaxay</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Borderlands (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Plus probably others at some point</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 01:48:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,200</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27079963</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andaxay/pseuds/Andaxay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments following our beloved cast during their bizarre quest, outside of the scenes we got to see. A series of mostly light-hearted one-shots, which will be updated as and when they're written.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. If Only They Could... Agree About Who Drives Next</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I played Tales for the first time in July of this year (after only getting into the Borderlands series itself at the start of the year) and completely and utterly fell in love with it. Now I literally can't get these dorks and their adventures out of my head. I'm working on some more serious stuff at the moment so started writing some more light-hearted stuff as a break from that. I love the montage during the opening credits of chapter 3 and it looks like these guys had a lot of fun together, so, I'm going to write things based on what they might have got up to in those times. I don't plan on writing anything obviously shippy, read into it as you will, I'll leave that up to your imagination.</p>
<p>First up: they can't even decide who has to drive next without it being problematic. I love these guys.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Uh-uh, no way, I drove last night, remember? It's someone else's turn."</p>
<p>"Well, Vaughn's out for the count," and indeed he was, lightly snoring while curled up next to the table with his high-tech glasses askew on his face. "Feel like it's been a while since Rhys actually did something useful around here, though..."</p>
<p>"I resent that, Fiona. I've, uhh, been doing something <em>very</em> useful, in that I've been-"</p>
<p>"Working on your little robot friend, yeah, we know," Sasha said dryly, fixing Rhys with A Look, "for, like, the last three days now. You can't keep using that as an excuse!"</p>
<p>"It's not an <em>excuse</em> and anyway, you'll be thanking me when I get him up and running again."</p>
<p>"Right," Fiona scoffed, eyeing up the pieces of Atlas robot strewn across the table. "Exactly what does a pint-sized Atlas drone bring to the table? Unless it can drive or cook, you're wasting your time."</p>
<p>"<em>He</em> will be plenty useful," Rhys fixed Fiona with the same Look Sasha had given him moments ago, folding his arms defiantly. She raised a single eyebrow in amusement - someone had got a little too attached to the broken drone. "He can... keep watch! You never know when some-some bandit king might try and take over this caravan. This is Pandora, right? There are probably like four of them outside right now, and we'd all have died horribly, from death by bandit kings, multiple, if it weren't for little Dumpy there."</p>
<p>"Huh, good plan, Rhys!" Fiona said in her most patronising, talking-to-a-small-child voice she could muster. "Ex<em>cept</em>, it looks like Vaughn is about to inhale some important-looking screws there."</p>
<p>"Wh- no, no, nonono!" Rhys scrambled over to the table and quickly pulled all of the screws and wires and loose parts of robot away from his best friend's very open mouth. Fiona's eyes met Sasha's and both began sniggering. "Yeah, laugh it up, ladies," Rhys continued, attempting to glare at them both and failing hilariously, "I'll be the one laughing when you both die from death by bandit kings. <em>Multiple</em>."</p>
<p>"I'll keep that in mind," Fiona said dryly, smirking, "but regardless, it can't drive so we still have a problem."</p>
<p>"Ooh! Oh, me! Please pick me! I'll drive!" The ever cheerful voice of Gortys found its way into the caravan as Loader Bot carried her down the ladder from the roof. Her eyes were enthusiastic crescent moons and she practically bounced out of Loader Bot's arm as he gently placed her on the floor. She wheeled past Athena, who appeared to be standing guard by the ladder, arms folded, as stoic as ever. Even Athena couldn't hide a small smile at Gortys' enthusiasm, though she quirked an eyebrow at the thought of Gortys driving.</p>
<p>Rhys, Sasha and Fiona shared the same thought as Athena and glanced at each other with various levels of 'what the heck do we say to that?' on their faces, ranging from 'uhh' to almost sheer terror, in Rhys' case. It was kind of sweet how attached their newly-adopted Hyperion middle manager had become to the resident robots, and clearly the thought of telling Gortys 'no' horrified him.</p>
<p>"I know I look too young to drive," Gortys continued cheerfully, "but I'm pretty sure Atlas installed some kind of driving software in me when they put the GPS in. And I drive myself all the time! The caravan has more wheels, but when you've already mastered one wheel, how hard can three wheels be? In fact, I'm probably the most qualified one here! I already move around on a wheel so I'm really good at it - if the caravan had legs, you guys would be <em>way</em> ahead of me in the maneuverability department, but it has wheels instead of legs, so I definitely think that I should be the one to do this." She beamed up at the trio, simultaneously melting and breaking hearts.</p>
<p>"Can't argue with that logic," Athena said with a small smirk, earning her own Gortys beam of happiness.</p>
<p>"Are you trying to get us killed?" Fiona asked Athena through her teeth, while Rhys rubbed the back of his neck as he normally did when under stress. To his credit, the reassuring chuckle he tried to let out only had a hint of hysteria in it. Sasha was stifling a laugh at the mental image of the caravan walking around on legs that resembled Rhys' to an alarming degree. Patterned socks and all.</p>
<p>"Uhh, so, while you're definitely super-qualified to drive - I mean, like you said, you're always driving yourself around, and you do it so well, like, your balance is exceptional and you turn corners <em>so</em> quickly-"</p>
<p>"What Rhys is trying to say, and doing terribly at it," Fiona added quietly, sending Rhys an exasperated glance, "is that this particular caravan was designed for, uhh," and she was beginning to stumble over her own words here, "well, beings of a... larger... vertical measurement."</p>
<p>The deafening silence in the caravan said all that needed to be said.</p>
<p>Loader Bot was the one to break it, to everyone's relief. "I believe I can be of assistance."</p>
<p>Everyone's relief evaporated immediately.</p>
<p>"... What do you mean?" Sasha asked cautiously, knowing no-one would like the answer.</p>
<p>"I am a being of a larger vertical measurement." This was punctuated nicely by the fact that he had to squat and hunch over to be able to fit into the caravan at all. "My functionality extends to operating other machinery."</p>
<p>"So... you can drive, is what you're saying?" Fiona asked, confused.</p>
<p>"Regrettably not. Hyperion does not issue their loader bots with driving licences as standard."</p>
<p>"Like Pandora is advanced enough to care about driving licences," Rhys muttered under his breath, earning an elbow to the side from a sharp-eared Fiona.</p>
<p>"Which is why I propose this: Gortys will steer the caravan and I shall operate the pedals."</p>
<p>There was a moment of overwhelming silence while everyone processed this, before the overwhelming noise began as everyone began to spell out exactly why that was a terrible idea.</p>
<p>"So, the thing about driving is-"</p>
<p>"-the legs pressing the pedals should <em>probably</em> be attached to the eyes watching the road, just a suggestion though-"</p>
<p>"-take too long to shout instructions to LB for the brake pedal and it's too late 'cause you've already hit the skag-"</p>
<p>"-you're already doing the navigating for us and you are the <em>best</em> at it, so we can't ask you to drive <em>too</em>-"</p>
<p>Gortys appeared to deflate slightly. "Oh... Ok, I understand." You could almost hear the group's hearts collectively break and Loader Bot fixed them all with a stern glare, which was impressive for a one-eyed Hyperion loader bot.</p>
<p>"Tell you what, Gortys," Fiona said gently, "we'll let<em> you</em> choose who gets to drive!" A sly smile made its way onto her face and her eyes briefly flicked in Rhys' direction, which definitely didn't make him nervous at all. "Based on what you know about us, who do <em>you</em> think would be the best person to drive?"</p>
<p>Gortys perked up immediately. "I can do that! Let's see..." She looked at them all in turn, seemingly deep in thought. This was a very crucial decision, after all. Rhys had just enough time to send Fiona a withering glare, which was met with an amused, arched eyebrow, before Gortys wheeled around to face them all, as if about to deliver an important speech. "I've done some calculations and I didn't even need to do those, because it's very obvious, but anyway, the being of the largest vertical measurement and therefore the non-robot person most suited to this task is... Rhys!"</p>
<p>Rhys didn't even have to look toward Fiona and Sasha to know that identical grins had split across both of their faces.</p>
<p>"You totally planned this," he said accusingly.</p>
<p>"Oh come on, we have absolutely no influence over what Gortys decides," Sasha said innocently. "And look at her face. Are you going to say no to that face?"</p>
<p>Rhys looked down at the little robot, who was beaming up at him and he marvelled at Atlas' ability to make such an expressive robot. One that had completely won him over with her endless cheer. Why did a vault-hunting robot have to be so damn adorable?! Sasha was right, he could <em>not</em> say no to that face.</p>
<p>"A-anything for you, Gortys," Rhys smiled down at her. "But, you have to help me navigate. Sound like a plan?"</p>
<p>"Okie dokie! It's actually a straight line for the next three hundred and sixty-two miles, but I can watch out for interesting-looking rocks and point them out to you?" Without waiting for a reply, she wheeled back over to Loader Bot, who scooped her up in one arm and carried her to the caravan's dashboard, shuffling awkwardly due to his large size.</p>
<p>"Thank you for volunteering, Rhys," Fiona said, smirking as she folded her arms.</p>
<p>"I'm doing this for Gortys," he retorted as he began to make his way to the driver's seat, "oh and Sasha? Do me a favour, please, and make sure Vaughn doesn't accidentally inhale and choke on any part of my robot. I'm very attached to him. ... And Vaughn too, I guess."</p>
<p>"Prioritise tiny Atlas robot over meat human best friend, got it," Sasha smiled up from where she'd settled at the table. "Please don't break any part of the caravan this time."</p>
<p>"Ok, for the last time, it<em> fell off</em> in my hand, if this tin can had been properly maintained at any point-"</p>
<p>"Aaand if major corporations hadn't swooped in and tried to destroy our planet, maybe we'd actually have had money to do that whole maintenance thing," Fiona cut in matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>"Touché," said Rhys dryly, ending that particular conversation there. He carefully squeezed past Loader Bot as he started up the steps, the latter having to squat to avoid hitting his head on the roof. Rhys held out his fist toward Loader Bot with an expectant smile and raised eyebrow and Loader Bot returned the fist-bump with one condition:</p>
<p>"Let Gortys select the music."</p>
<p>Rhys couldn't argue with that. He sat in the driver's seat and started fumbling around for the seat adjustment lever as Gortys enthusiastically sorted through Fiona and Sasha's music CDs on the dashboard.</p>
<p>"This might be the most important decision I make on this trip," Gortys was saying quietly to herself and Rhys smiled to himself, secretly hoping he would be able to find the specific Atlas tech and programming at their next destination that had resulted in Gortys, so he could learn how to make robots as sweet as she was. It would be a nice change from the oppressive, back-stabbing culture that made up Hyperion. Rhys had been finding himself missing Helios less and less as the days went on. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, yet. "Ooh!" Gortys startled him out of his thoughts as she handed him a shining CD, "this one, please!"</p>
<p>"Alright, let's see what we have here..."</p>
<p>Of all the things Rhys could have guessed would come out of the speakers, death metal was not one of them.</p>
<p>Well, Gortys was certainly enjoying herself. Rhys looked at her in astonishment to find her bouncing in time to the music, eyes 'closed' and mouth in a zig-zag pattern he hadn't seen before. Safe to say there were a <em>lot</em> of things he was learning on this bizarre trip through the Pandoran desert.</p>
<p>"Sasha's," Fiona offered by way of explanation as she climbed the steps up to the driver's seat.</p>
<p>"I could've guessed that. What I couldn't have guessed is, well, <em>that</em>," Rhys gestured at Gortys and Fiona grinned fondly at the little robot.</p>
<p>"What can I say? She has good taste." Fiona watched Rhys trying and failing to find the seat adjustment lever in amusement. "Need a hand there?"</p>
<p>"Perfectly fine here, thank you, I wouldn't even have to do this if you weren't so damn short. Note to self, only drive straight after Athena has been driving..."</p>
<p>"You know, it's ironic hearing height-related criticism from someone who is eighty percent leg."</p>
<p>"You're just jealous I had the good sense to actually grow to a respectable height."</p>
<p>"I can get a seat installed at the back of the caravan for the next time you're on driving duty, if that would help."</p>
<p>"You're hilarious. I'll make a note of that for the next time you can't reach the top cupboard in the kitchen."</p>
<p>"Just looking out for our favourite 'being of the largest vertical measurement'," Fiona said innocently, "oh, and the lever is underneath the front of the seat. As amusing as it is to watch you struggle, this is getting unbearably embarrassing. For you."</p>
<p>"Aww, I'm your favourite?" Rhys mockingly held his hand to his chest as he fixed her with another withering look, "shucks, Fiona, that really hits the heart."</p>
<p>"Just drive, Hyperion, I'd like to find this upgrade before the inevitable heat death of the Universe."</p>
<p>"Okie dokie!" Gortys exclaimed as Rhys finally managed to adjust his seat to a somewhat more comfortable setting, "off we go! Please go in, uhh, <em>that</em> direction! And don't worry, I'll tell you when you need to turn. I'll even count down the miles so you'll have some warning about when you'll need to turn. Please turn left in three hundred and sixty-two miles!"</p>
<p>"This is gonna be a long trip," Fiona said quietly and even Rhys couldn't disagree with that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. If Only They Could... Change a Damn Tyre</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The con artist and corporate stooge are forced to work together once more.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Basically an excuse to write Fiona and Rhys trading insults. Or, more accurately, Fiona insulting Rhys and Rhys floundering. As usual.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Come- <em>hnnnnngg- ooon- </em>gah!"</p>
<p>"Hey Fi, since breakfast was hours ago I grabbed us a couple of- <em>ooof</em>!"</p>
<p>"Crap! Sorry, Rhys. Didn't mean to lose the tyre like that. But hey! Thanks for unintentionally stopping it with your lanky body, saved me from running after it in this heat."</p>
<p>"Don't- <em>don't mention it- </em>didn't need air in my lungs anyway. <em>Whew</em>. That's- that's a <em>big</em> tyre."</p>
<p>"It's a big caravan. We're lucky Scooter packed us a spare when he spruced it up. I owe him one. Well, I owe him like, fifty, since he did the repairs for free." Fiona eyed up the tyre that was propped against Rhys' whole self and took hold of it to steady it. She'd ditched her jacket in the desert heat, grateful the white blouse underneath was sleeveless, and she'd already begun to sweat just dragging the tyre out from under the rear of the caravan. Why couldn't they have gotten a flat in the middle of the night? At least they'd been close to a gas station, small mercies. "Thanks for, uhh, what I assume was a lemonade."</p>
<p>"I don't know, this is Pandora, it was probably made of bandit sweat or something."</p>
<p>"Or orphans' tears. Probably took one look at that logo on your chest and thought that would be more fitting."</p>
<p>"Surprised he actually sold it to me and didn't just shoot me on sight," Rhys shrugged honestly, metal hand resting on the tyre. "Well, now I'm wearing half of it, I'm not feeling the heat as much," he squeezed some of the lemonade out of his collar to make a point, "so, you've saved me from heat stroke and you have my eternal gratitude for that."</p>
<p>"And to think you wrote me off as nothing but a con-woman-"</p>
<p>"And you owe me $2.50 for the lemonade."</p>
<p>Fiona fixed him with her biggest, saddest eyes. "You ask that of me, a woman left with no possessions except for a flat tyre after Hyperion swooped in and drained the planet of everything it had-"</p>
<p>"Ohmygod<em> stop</em>-" Rhys put his lemonade-sticky left palm across Fiona's whole face to silence her and felt, rather than saw, her expression of disgust, "does that ever work on anyone? The only thing <em>that</em> face is melting is my desire to live."</p>
<p>"<em>Mrrphh-</em>'s convenient 'cause I'm gonna drive off and leave you right here in the desert," Fiona said, pulling his hand off her face by the wrist, and glaring at it. Rhys responded very maturely by sticking his middle digit up. "I'll snap that right off, Hyperion." The finger retreated immediately and she let go of his wrist. "Now, leave me alone so I can save our asses by changing this tyre."</p>
<p>Rhys stepped back as Fiona fumbled with the large tyre and began to wheel it toward the offending flat one. It was early in the afternoon and the sun was beaming down, making the task significantly more difficult than it otherwise would have been. Fiona began to curse as the tyre wobbled and came to rest with a solid <em>thunk </em>against the body of the caravan. Hearing Rhys' soft, barely-stifled laughter didn't help.</p>
<p>"Would you... like some help?"</p>
<p>Fiona turned to glare at him, and seeing the amused half-smile on his face made her want to buy more lemonade so she could pour it over his head. Hopefully it would melt out some of the excessive hair gel in there. "Are you... being serious right now? You? Help with this?"</p>
<p>"Yeah?" He looked at her with an open expression of pure puzzlement that she hadn't jumped on his offer.</p>
<p>"Rhys," and she was smirking now, "literally anybody else on this planet would be more suited to helping than you. You have the strength of a baby skag and a strong breeze would snap you in half."</p>
<p>Rhys opened and closed his mouth a few times, outraged. "Wh- alright, I know Sasha probably helps with a lot of this stuff, but she isn't here right now and I'm the next best choice!"</p>
<p>"<em>Vaughn</em> would be the next best choice."</p>
<p>"Vaughn's paralyzed!"</p>
<p>"Your point?"</p>
<p>"I- uhh- actually yeah," Rhys rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the floor in defeat, "yeah, to be fair, if you've seen what's under his shirt, he's definitely the next best choice- I, uhh-" Rhys caught sight of Fiona's wide-eyed stare as she completely stopped in place, and he began back-pedalling frantically, "I mean, he-"</p>
<p>"Hey, what you and Vaughn get up to in your own time is your business."</p>
<p>"No! <em>God</em>, he's my <em>friend</em>, I just- the guy is buff, Fiona, he's put a lotta work in, you gotta respect that-"</p>
<p>"Vaughn?" Fiona considered this new nugget of information. "Huh, he <em>did</em> handle himself remarkably well during the death rally, especially for a Hyperion. Huh. The more you know."</p>
<p>"<em>Any</em>way, I'm your best option. Where is Sasha, anyway?"</p>
<p>"She and Athena went to blow off some frustration," and Fiona shot some finger guns at him. "And I'd ask Loader Bot, but looks like he and Gortys are... looking at... rocks?"</p>
<p>Rhys turned and they both watched the specks that were the two robots in the distance. Gortys was picking up several desert-coloured rocks and enthusiastically holding them up to show Loader Bot, who high-fived her every time she found a new rock. Both Rhys and Fiona smiled fondly.</p>
<p>"Very important work," Rhys nodded.</p>
<p>Fiona sighed. "Alright, then. You're the best man for the job. By which I mean, you're the only one available to help right now."</p>
<p>"I will take that as a compliment."</p>
<p>"You do you, Rhys. You ever changed a tyre before?"</p>
<p>"Have I- <em>pahaha</em>, have I ever changed a <em>tyre </em>before-"</p>
<p>Fiona sent a single raised eyebrow in his direction.</p>
<p>"... No, no I haven't. I mean, I live in <em>space</em>, Fiona," Rhys gestured widely to the large 'H' shadowing Elpis and Fiona didn't hide her sneer of disgust as she glanced up at it.</p>
<p>"Vasquez had a car."</p>
<p>"Yeah, and Vasquez was gonna get it digi-structed into his office while I was in there just to show off how much of a rich, job-stealing asshole he was."</p>
<p>"Not that you're bitter about it. Or, wouldn't have done the same."</p>
<p>"I... wouldn't have kept it in my <em>office</em> of all places."</p>
<p>"Alright, then," Fiona looked him up and down, asymmetrical stripes and all, "roll that sticky sleeve up and let's just get this done."</p>
<p>"Ugh," Rhys made a face as he forced the sleeve up beyond his elbow, something that was quite difficult given the state of it, "you owe me a new shirt."</p>
<p>"You ask that of <em>me</em>, a woman left with-"</p>
<p>"I will send this tyre flying across this desert if you don't<em> stop</em>-"</p>
<p>"Like you could even lift it off the caravan!"</p>
<p>"I...! ... Will ask Loader Bot to send this tyre flying across this desert!"</p>
<p>Somehow, in amongst the bickering, the pair actually set about doing their task. Fiona was no stranger to flat tyres, though she usually worked with Sasha to repair or change them and it was normally a relatively painless process. This, however - and Fiona looked wearily at Rhys as he picked up a wrench from the toolbox she'd placed nearby and looked questioningly at it, eyebrow raised - this would not be painless. She turned her attention to the flat tyre at the rear of the caravan.</p>
<p>"Do me a favour, grab the jack over there for me, would you?"</p>
<p>Rhys immediately sputtered and fumbled with and dropped the wrench he was holding, staring at her with wide eyes as he flushed red. "G-grab the, uhh- the what, grab the-"</p>
<p>Fiona blinked at him. "The thing that holds the caravan up?" She gestured to where the jack sat a few feet away.</p>
<p>"R-right! That, yeah, that's immediately what I thought you meant, just, uhh, just confirming that..." He went to fetch it and Fiona didn't miss the glare that he sent to a random spot of desert.</p>
<p>Their new middle manager tag-along definitely had his odd moments.</p>
<p>She eyed the damp patches on his shirt from the lemonade. Maybe she'd been a bit harsh in her initial assessment of him. Not many Hyperion middle managers would bring her lemonade in the middle of the Pandoran desert.</p>
<p>Fiona set about loosening the wheel nuts with the wrench Rhys had dropped, struggling with a couple that Sasha had apparently tightened very well last time the tyre had been changed. Rhys half-carried, half-dragged the jack over to where Fiona was now sitting cross-legged in front of the tyre, mumbling to himself. She sighed in mild exasperation.</p>
<p>"Rhys, you could just carry it with your robot arm, it's like the one part of you that isn't made of tissue paper."</p>
<p>Rhys blinked at her, mouth slightly open as he looked at his right arm and appeared to seriously consider what she'd said. "I, uhh, hadn't considered that."</p>
<p>Fiona had to stop herself from slapping her palm into her face. "Seriously?! You just... never thought to use it?"</p>
<p>"I'm left-handed," he said defensively, "instinct, you know? Besides. It's made for computer stuff. Hacking. Data mining. That sort of thing."</p>
<p>"Well it looks like it might be good for loosening wheel nuts," Fiona smiled up at him and patted the sand to her left. "C'mon, you can help with these, this wrench isn't doing much."</p>
<p>"I don't think the wrench is the problem," Rhys smiled back as he sat next to her.</p>
<p>They got to work. Rhys quickly shed his vest, being too hot in the intense Pandoran sun to even consider keeping it on. The tie went next. Fiona was very tempted to crack a joke about shedding clothes but stopped herself - their friendship hadn't<em> quite</em> reached that level of comfort just yet. She considered him as she stared at the wheel nut she was working on. She'd spent a lot of her adult life hating Hyperion and everyone that came from it, with good reason, considering its mass-murdering CEO had sent thousands of Hyperion employees to apparently kill as many Pandorans as possible. But then there was this guy, and his friend, Vaughn. Other than being a little on the corporate side, they seemed... well, normal. Likeable, even. Certainly a far cry from everything she'd ever expected from Hyperion.</p>
<p>Damn Hyperions, coming down here and subverting all of her expectations.</p>
<p>"So," Rhys began as he actually put his mechanical arm to use and successfully loosened one of the wheel nuts, "how long have you had this caravan for?"</p>
<p>Fiona side-eyed him, an amused smile on her face. "Small talk? Your corporate is showing."</p>
<p>"Well, it's that or listen to the sound of those weird bird things you have screeching over there. Alarmingly closely, actually..." Fiona followed his slightly anxious gaze to the circling rakks in the distance.</p>
<p>"Ehh, they'll only get you if you look like good hunting. Not enough meat on you to bother exerting the energy." She grinned at the scowl she was rewarded with. "But, to answer your question, we've had it a long time. It... it was Felix's." Fiona turned back to her wheel nut, still feeling the sting she had been feeling every time she'd thought about Felix since his betrayal.</p>
<p>"... Oh."</p>
<p>"Yeah. Guess it's mine and Sasha's by default, now. But, now it's all spruced up, we can take it anywhere. Scooter's given it a new lease of life."</p>
<p>"Yeah, to give him credit, it looks great. Even if Scooter himself was a little..."</p>
<p>"Full of a lot of words to say to the two Hyperions who were trying to steal our caravan?"</p>
<p>"That, uhh, yeah," Rhys rubbed the back of his neck, looking somewhat uncomfortable.</p>
<p>"He was just making sure me and Sasha were ok. And, to be fair, you can't really blame anyone on Pandora for hating Hyperion employees. I mean, have you seen the place?"</p>
<p>Rhys sighed heavily. Then suddenly scowled again. "Hey, I was trying to have a nice, light conversation here!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, you're terrible at this," Fiona grinned at him again, reassuring him somewhat.</p>
<p>"Alright, well since your default topic of conversation seems to be 'Hyperion should die', how about something <em>not</em> about my place of work? Like, uhh, Pandora?"</p>
<p>"Pandora?" Fiona asked skeptically, half-snorting.</p>
<p>"Yeah! I mean, I don't know anything about this place, other than- ohmygod it's <em>hot</em>, how do you <em>cope</em> with this?! Or, anyway, or, like, you guys! You and Sasha. If we're gonna be cooped up together in this caravan, it'd be good to get to know each other a little better." Rhys shrugged at her, expression surprisingly open. "Or, if you guys know anything about Athena," and he did the half-smile again, "because she scares the hell out of me and it'd be nice to not accidentally get onto her bad side and end up on the wrong side of that shield."</p>
<p>"Yeeeah, I <em>have</em> been on the wrong side of that shield. And, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think she's even worse at conversation than you are. Maybe don't talk to her about Atlas. Or corporations in general. ... Maybe just don't talk to her at all, Rhys. There's no situation in which it'll end well for you," Fiona chuckled, imagining Athena just throwing her shield right into Rhys' face. "Alright, now we can change the tyre."</p>
<p>They jacked the caravan up and hoisted the flat tyre off. The two were working well together, Fiona was finding, somewhat surprised. She'd been expecting Rhys to be a bit on the hapless side of things, but once he'd actually started working he'd fallen into a rhythm. They were in sync and she wasn't hating the task as much as she'd expected to.</p>
<p>"Alright, new tyre. Ready? One, two, three, liiiiift-<em>hnnnggg</em>!"</p>
<p>"You- <em>unf- </em>you were gonna try- <em>ooof</em>- and do this yourself?" They lifted the tyre into position and Rhys stopped for a minute to catch his breath. He caught sight of Fiona's murderous expression and held his palms up in defence. "N-not that I think you <em>couldn't</em>, but-"</p>
<p>"I'll... I'll admit defeat on that one," she confessed, surprising Rhys. "You've actually been very helpful. I know, I can't believe I'm saying it, either," and even she couldn't hide a smile as Rhys beamed at her, genuinely surprised to have heard such a thing.</p>
<p>"What can I say?" He feigned an arrogant smile, eyebrow cocked. "I'm a natural. And... you're a good teacher."</p>
<p>"You're welcome," Fiona mock-curtseyed gracefully, or as gracefully as she could manage while sweating under the sweltering sun. "Alright, wheel nuts back on."</p>
<p>They attached the wheel nuts, lowered the caravan back down and began tightening the wheel nuts, Fiona with her wrench and Rhys with his metal arm.</p>
<p>"I didn't know what to expect when I landed here," Rhys said quietly, focusing intently on the wheel nut he was working on, "and now we've kinda fallen into this weird vault adventure. And... I don't hate it. Don't get me wrong, this planet sucks. Everything wants to kill me."</p>
<p>"You get used to that."</p>
<p>"Yeah, I guess. I think what I'm trying to say, is... thanks?" Fiona looked at him, not knowing what had prompted this. "For, well, not killing us to start with. And going along with this crazy vault thing. For not just ditching us at every available opportunity. I... appreciate it, Fiona." He went silent and she noticed he was slightly pinker around the ears.</p>
<p>Definitely not what she'd expected from a Hyperion.</p>
<p>"Honestly, I don't hate it, either. I mean, we could still die at any moment. But, if I was gonna be stuck on this quest with corporate assholes, I'm glad I got stuck with you. And Vaughn. As corporate assholes go, you're the least asshole-y ones."</p>
<p>"Uhh, thanks? I think..." He smiled and she grinned.</p>
<p>"Alright! We're done here. Thanks, Rhys, seriously. That was a lot less painful than it could have been."</p>
<p>"You're welcome. And, I learned something today! ... To not buy a vehicle with such huge tyres."</p>
<p>"Yeah, those stringy things you refer to as 'muscles' wouldn't be up to such a task alone."</p>
<p>"Oh, good, and I was afraid you'd run out of insults."</p>
<p>"Come on," she gestured toward the gas station store, grinning again. Rhys was too easy to poke fun at. "Let's get out of this heat while we wait for the others. I owe you a lemonade."</p>
<p>"And a new shirt."</p>
<p>"Only if I get to burn that crime to fashion that is your current shirt."</p>
<p>"... Lemonade sounds good."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. If Only They Could... Play a Simple Game of Cards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our favourite caravan family fill some time with an old card game and definitely don't make up some of the rules as they go.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another full day of driving had been and gone and the group had parked up in the safety of a rocky alcove for the night. Loader Bot and Gortys were perched on top of the caravan, partly keeping watch for any bandits, mostly keeping an eye on the smallest robotic member of the group, who had been fondly named 'Dumpy' by the tallest human member of the group. Rhys had managed to fix the little security drone-</p>
<p>"-eeeeeeeooooouurgghhh!"</p>
<p>Well, mostly.</p>
<p>"I agree!" Gortys chirped cheerfully, watching the drone float around haphazardly.</p>
<p>Inside, the humans were resting following a surprisingly hearty meal courtesy of Sasha who, it had transpired, could turn even the most sparse of ingredients available on Pandora into a tasty dish.</p>
<p>"Can't... move..."</p>
<p>"Death by too much food, gotta say, it's the way to go. You've outdone yourself, sis."</p>
<p>"Man, when I pictured you guys killing us in a thousand different ways, this... wasn't one of the scenarios."</p>
<p>"I'll take that as a compliment, Rhys."</p>
<p>"... Yeah, let's pretend that's what it was."</p>
<p>"So, now that Sasha's made sure we won't need to eat again for about three years," Athena said, smiling slightly and nodding her head respectfully at the woman in question, "what do we do to kill the time tonight?"</p>
<p>"Something that doesn't involve moving," said Fiona, eyes closed while still holding her hands to her stomach, and Rhys made a small, painful noise of agreement, "seriously Sash, I think you've killed me."</p>
<p>"Only yourself to blame for that one, dear sister. Portion sizes," Sasha smirked at Fiona, "they're a thing, you know."</p>
<p>"I'm of the mindset that you should eat as much as you can whenever there's food. Never know when you might eat again."</p>
<p>"I don't think we have to worry about that with Sasha here. She could turn dust into a five-star meal," said Vaughn, who was also looking distinctly uncomfortable, having also stuffed himself to the limit.</p>
<p>"Guys! You're making me blush," Sasha did a mock curtsy, smiling gracefully, "and yeah, you should enjoy it while you can. Rhys is cooking tomorrow. So, uhh, good luck to us all."</p>
<p>"Hey!" the man in question exclaimed indignantly, "everything I've made so far has been at-at least edible, right?"</p>
<p>"I mean, how is it even possible to burn pasta, anyway?"</p>
<p>"I haven't seen <em>you</em> make anything to write home about, Fiona, there's such thing as <em>over</em>-boiling something-"</p>
<p>"Don't really think you're qualified to complain, Rhys," chimed Vaughn, an amused glint in his eyes, "how many times did our whole apartment block on Helios have to evacuate because of fire alarms caused by your 'cooking'? Six, seven times? In the space of about six months?"</p>
<p>"If Hyperion hadn't fitted alarms so sensitive that they went off 'cause of <em>burnt toast</em>-"</p>
<p>"Really starting to wonder what the ladies ever saw in you, Rhys."</p>
<p>"I ask myself that every day, Vaughn," Fiona found enough energy to smirk at Rhys, thoroughly enjoying the roasting he was currently getting.</p>
<p>"Back to Athena's question!" Rhys said loudly, his face mildly reddening.</p>
<p>"I think we've got it covered," said Athena who, to Rhys' dismay, was also smirking, "this is more than entertaining."</p>
<p>"Nope! No. This is an <em>outrage</em>, with everything I do around here and <em>this</em> is how I'm treated and I even got us a little security drone to keep us all secure and nooo, everyone wants to hear about burnt <em>toast</em> like they've never burned toast in their <em>lives</em>-"</p>
<p>"Alright, I suppose we've shredded Rhys enough-"</p>
<p>"<em>Thank you</em>, Sasha! Finally, someone talking sense-"</p>
<p>"-for one night. Don't want to use all our insults up before the journey's done, right?" She winked at him and he threw his arms up in despair. "So, uhh, what about a board game?"</p>
<p>Athena noticeably perked up at this. "That game we played a few nights ago, what was it called? 'Bunkers and Ba-'"</p>
<p>There was a very loud, collective "NO!" from everyone else in the caravan. Athena at least had the good grace to look surprised and looked at everyone with wide, innocent eyes.</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"'<em>What</em>', she asks?!"</p>
<p>"That did <em>not</em> end well," Fiona said quietly, traumatised, eyes staring at a distant point.</p>
<p>"Pretty sure I stood on one of the pieces that went flying when the board was mercilessly tossed aside in rage..."</p>
<p>"My poor Siren," Rhys choked out and Vaughn put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "she'll never be the same shape again!"</p>
<p>"So... cards?" Sasha suggested, once again trying to restore the peace.</p>
<p>"We've played a lot of cards lately," Fiona chipped in unhelpfully, but then appeared to have a sudden idea. "Hey Sash, remember that old Earth card game Felix had?"</p>
<p>"The... oh, the one with the colours? I think that might be lying around in here somewhere..." Sasha went to look for it at the back of one of the cupboards by the kitchen. "Hopefully it survived the moon shots... aha! Got it."</p>
<p>"Felix enjoyed this one a lot," Fiona explained to the rest, somewhat fondly but with a slight edge of bitterness, "it involves screwing others over, so, fitting I suppose."</p>
<p>"Con artists playing games about screwing people over, who knew?"</p>
<p>"Just for that, Rhys, you're washing up."</p>
<p>"... Fine. Someone else is getting the drinks, though."</p>
<hr/>
<p><br/>"Alright, everyone get that? Good, I'm not explaining again. You can learn as we go. This is an 'everyone out for themselves' type of game, so, don't go easy on each other, and... everyone screw Rhys over." Fiona shot Rhys a cunning smile and received a glare in return.</p>
<p>"You're all always picking on me! Seriously, what did I <em>do</em> to you guys?!"</p>
<p>"Sure you want to venture into that territory?"</p>
<p>"... So, how many cards do we start with?"</p>
<p>The cards were dealt, the remainder piled neatly face-down on the table. The starting card was flipped over... And newly-crafted friendships were likely about to be destroyed forever.</p>
<p>"Ha! Read it and weep! And that's another two cards you need to pick up, Vaughn!"</p>
<p>"Dammit! Why did I sit next to Fiona..."</p>
<p>"Nah, you're doing ok. Rhys, however... You know the goal of the game is to get <em>rid</em> of all of your cards, right?"</p>
<p>"This is a <em>conspiracy</em>," Rhys grumbled, glaring his very full hand of cards. Athena placed her next card with an uncharacteristically smug expression, side-eyeing Rhys, who stared at her card in horror. "Oh, <em>come on</em>! I have, like, eight-hundred cards, how are you still screwing me over?"</p>
<p>"Maybe this will help," Sasha said lightly, placing a card with two arrows down. "Your turn again Rhys and we go around the other way, now. You must have a card <em>somewhere</em> in that handful that will screw Athena over, right?"</p>
<p>"Aha! Thank you, Sasha, and yes, I definitely... absolutely... do <em>not</em> have a card this round, but revenge is coming in the next round! So, you'd better watch out, Athena," and he sent Athena a smug half-smile, which was met with a threatening glare and Rhys lost his nerve immediately, "'cause, uhh, you have no idea what card I'm gonna pick up next and, uhh... Yeah!"</p>
<p>"Right," Athena replied, a single eyebrow raised in amusement. "But first, I'm going to screw over your friend here..." She placed a 'pick up four' card and this time her smugness was directed at Vaughn.</p>
<p>"Oh man," Vaughn looked mournfully down at Athena's card, before his expression suddenly changed into something surprisingly confident, for him at least. He adjusted his glasses as he side-eyed Fiona, who kept her expression neutral. "If only... I had one of these! Aha!" He practically slammed the card down on top of Athena's - another 'pick up four', grinning in triumph before he suddenly grew concerned. "We <em>can</em> stack these cards, right?"</p>
<p>"You absolutely can, Vaughn," Rhys assured him as Fiona and Sasha exchanged a look of doubt. "Especially when it means Fiona's screwed. I'd actively encourage it."</p>
<p>"Oh, so we decided we're doing that rule?" Fiona had a mischievous glint in her eye that made all of them nervous. "Alright then..." And she placed yet another 'pick up four' card onto the stack. Rhys let out a loud laugh of amazement.</p>
<p>"Screwing over your own sister? Oh man, you con artists really are some- wait, why is Sasha smiling? Sasha... why are you smiling?"</p>
<p>"There are four of these particular cards in a deck, Rhys. Three of them were just played and, since you were so adamant about stacking cards, very noble of you to back your friend, by the way, but..."</p>
<p>"Oh no..."</p>
<p>"Since we're doing this..."</p>
<p>"Don't do it, Sasha, <em>please</em>-"</p>
<p>"I'd really hate to waste the opportunity here-"</p>
<p>"I will wash up every day this week. This month! I will cook for the <em>rest of time</em>-"</p>
<p>"That actually makes things worse, none of us should be subjected to your cooking more than necessary." Sasha placed the card down with a flourish and it was Fiona's turn to let out a loud noise of smug happiness.</p>
<p>"Four plus four, plus four, plus <em>another</em> four, hey Vaughn, you're good with numbers, what does all of that add up to?"</p>
<p>"No, <em>no</em>, you guys are cheating!"</p>
<p>"Are you accusing your best friend of cheating?" Fiona looked at Rhys in mock shock, placing a hand to her chest before looking at Vaughn, pretending to be horrified. "I think your best friend is accusing you of cheating!"</p>
<p>"Rhys! After all we've been through?!" Vaughn fixed his friend with the largest, saddest eyes he could pull off and Rhys stared open-mouthed at him.</p>
<p>"Wh- no! Wait, what?!"</p>
<p>"I see how it is," Vaughn said pitifully, before smirking. "Pick your sixteen cards up so we can carry on screwing you over."</p>
<p>"Bu- wh- why are you working with <em>them</em>?!" Rhys' voice was rising more and more which only caused the others to laugh. "We're supposed to be friends, friends look out for each other and I had your back!"</p>
<p>"Because it's fun," Vaughn grinned good-naturedly, "but I promise I'll stop now. Promise."</p>
<p>"We won't," Sasha said lightly and Fiona and Athena nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>"I'd almost be disappointed if you did," Rhys grumbled as he reached forward to pick up his cards. He made sure to pick each individual one up with a sharp snap, glaring at them all in turn as they collectively sniggered at him. "Enjoy this now, <em>friends</em>, revenge is coming and it is coming so much."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh, sure, yeah. Need an extra hand there, <em>friend</em>? That's a lot of cards." Fiona grinned at him, thoroughly enjoying herself.</p>
<p>"No, no I do not, I <em>got</em> this," and he dropped his cards all over the table.</p>
<p>"Oh, Rhys," Sasha sighed but to her credit, she averted her eyes so as not to peek at Rhys' cards, "you're a literal walking disaster. It's a good thing you're... you're... Nope, I got nothing, someone remind me why we keep him around?"</p>
<p>"Spare torch?" Fiona suggested, smirking. "That hand is pretty, well, <em>handy</em>."</p>
<p>"Y'know, I'll remember all of this and one day, and I do not know when that will be, but one day, you'll be sad you were ever mean to me." He retrieved all of his cards and held them in a clump while the game resumed. He was terrible at this game, he had to admit. But hey, at least it couldn't get any worse.</p>
<p>"<em>Better practise your gracious loser face, kiddo</em>!"</p>
<p>... Or, it absolutely could get very worse. </p>
<p>Rhys groaned internally as the blue, holographic form of his former CEO appeared in front of him, standing behind Vaughn and Fiona. Jack had this incredibly annoying habit of appearing at the least convenient times, knowing Rhys couldn't do a thing about it, or even respond, considering the group would see him shouting at thin air and that would definitely put some concerning thoughts in their minds. He settled on exhaling heavily through his nose, something he could write off as frustration at losing the game. He didn't even have to look at Jack to know the guy had a shit-eating grin on his digital face.</p>
<p>"<em>I know you're super happy to see me and all, but hey! Got some great news for ya that'll turn these tables right around. See, I can help you win this thing, Rhysie, this cute little card game you've got going on here</em>."</p>
<p>Rhys couldn't verbally reply to that, so he hoped the quizzical look he shot at Jack was enough to convey his 'what the hell are you talking about, have you played this before?' question. Unfortunately his expression must have looked rather odd, as Rhys' eyes flicked down and met Fiona's, who looked at him very strangely before she glanced over her shoulder in confusion. <em>Crap</em>.</p>
<p>"<em>Don't know why you're not using that ECHO-Eye that I so nicely upgraded for you to scan the hell out of the cards they're all holding but hey, you focus on piloting that meat-suit of yours while I carry on being the brains of the operation</em>." Jack folded his arms and looked disapprovingly at Rhys.</p>
<p>"I'm <em>not</em> cheating," Rhys tried to say quietly through his teeth.</p>
<p>"Uhh, no-one is saying that," Sasha said to him, frowning at him. Fiona shot him another quizzical glance while Vaughn's eyes widened as he suddenly realised what was going on.</p>
<p>"<em>It's not cheating! It's... using your assets to turn things in your favour. Don't'cha spend all your time on Helios doing that, anyway</em>?"</p>
<p>Rhys' eyes met Vaughn's and he tried to communicate while being as subtle as possible. <em>Help</em>!</p>
<p>Luckily, Vaughn was a sharp one. "Hey!" He exclaimed loudly, drawing everyone's attention toward him and away from Rhys. "So... this game, huh? It's... definitely... a game." Fiona and Sasha blinked at him and Athena frowned, sensing something was up as Vaughn floundered.</p>
<p>Rhys blinked his thanks at Vaughn, before quickly snapping his gaze to Jack, who arched a single eyebrow in amusement. Rhys very slowly and deliberately mouthed "absolutely not", complete with a glare. </p>
<p>"<em>Your funeral, cupcake</em>!" He didn't disappear, to Rhys' disappointment, and instead 'sat down' in midair, hands behind his head, smirking the whole time. <em>Great</em>.</p>
<p>"That's a fantastic observation, Vaughn," Fiona said dryly, "you ever think of becoming a detective?"</p>
<p>Rhys mouthed a "sorry" to Vaughn, who had turned slightly pink under the pressure and Vaughn returned an expression that told Rhys "I'm not doing that again". Rhys sighed internally - he was definitely going to have to find a way to get Jack to stop popping up at inconvenient times. Or, preferably, stop popping up at <em>all</em>.</p>
<p>"Your turn, Rhys."</p>
<p>"Wh- oh, yeah, right..."</p>
<hr/>
<p><br/>"Ten out of ten, I'd absolutely play that again. We're gonna play again, right?"</p>
<p>"Absolutely," Sasha grinned, "especially since one of us clearly needs to practise at playing."</p>
<p>Rhys was face-down on his very sizeable pile of cards. He let out a single, painful moan of disagreement.</p>
<p>"Clearly," and Fiona was grinning, too. "I mean, it could have been worse, Rhys. You could have ended up with the <em>whole</em> deck of cards in your hands."</p>
<p>"Mffrph," Rhys replied intelligently. He had a pounding headache which <em>definitely</em> wasn't down to his lack of skill at this game. That, and Jack's non-stop insults during the entirety of the rest of the session which had been very difficult to ignore. He'd finally left Rhys alone now, cackling as he'd disappeared.</p>
<p>"I enjoyed that," Athena said, half-smirking in Rhys' direction. "Still wouldn't mind another round of Bunkers an-"</p>
<p>"<em>NO</em>!"</p>
<p>Vaughn was almost pink with glee. "Finally, something Rhys is awful at!" Vaughn had managed to win the last round and was riding the wave of euphoria that came with it. "The ol' Strongfork luck ran out here, huh?"</p>
<p>There was a moment of absolute silence as Fiona, Sasha and even Athena stared at Vaughn, open-mouthed.</p>
<p>"Wait, wait, wait-" Fiona turned to stare at the top of Rhys' head as he stubbornly remained face-down on his cards. She saw his shoulders stiffen as he realised exactly what was coming next.</p>
<p>"Don't-"</p>
<p>"Your last name is <em>Strongfork</em>?"</p>
<p>"Oh god-"</p>
<p>"Strongfork. Strong. Fork."</p>
<p>"Aaaand I'm back in high school."</p>
<p>"This," Fiona was grinning from ear to ear and Sasha had a similar expression on her face, "this is <em>gold</em>."</p>
<p>"It's just a <em>name</em>," Rhys raised his head to glare at her, which was completely ineffective as two of the cards remained stuck to his face. "Thanks, <em>Vaughn</em>, for that."</p>
<p>"They would have found out at some point," Vaughn said, smiling, perhaps finally glad that Rhys was the one getting all the stick and not him.</p>
<p>"Rhys Strongfork," Sasha announced while Fiona cackled and even Athena was trying to hide a smile. "More leg than sense, terrible at cards."</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah, congratulations, I have a <em>last name</em>, are you <em>done</em>-"</p>
<p>"Far from it, but we're done. ... For now."</p>
<p>"Yeah, we should probably get some sleep," Sasha reasoned, checking the time. Vaughn stretched and sent an apologetic glance to Rhys, who narrowed his eyes accusingly and lay his head on the table again, closing his eyes against the headache.</p>
<p>"Not <em>here</em>-"</p>
<p>"I'm not moving," Rhys said stubbornly as Sasha packed the cards away, unceremoniously pushing Rhys' head aside to collect the ones he was face-down on.</p>
<p>"Fine," Fiona conceded, "but don't come complaining to us when your back feels all out of whack tomorrow, <em>Strongfork</em>."</p>
<p>"You're never letting that go, are you?"</p>
<p>"Y'know, when such an opportunity presents itself-"</p>
<p>"For that, you're taking my cooking duty tomorrow."</p>
<p>"... Worth it."</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The card game is Uno. I love Uno so much. Can't wait to play it again with a bunch of friends when This Is All Over.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. If Only They Could... Fly Into The Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fiona and Sasha have a quiet moment together the night before everything goes to hell.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a little something between my favourite pair of video game sisters. I love their relationship.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tomorrow was the big day. It was getting very late and Fiona could see stars twinkling against the dark Pandoran sky from where she sat in the cockpit of the caravan. The caravan that had been turned into a massive goddamn <em>space ship</em>. It pointed upwards, aiming for a large opening in the ceiling of the cave that housed her home. Hollow Point. It was possible, she thought idly, that this might be the last time she would ever see it. Fiona ran her fingertips across the newly-installed buttons and dials that scattered the dashboard and felt a wave of anxiety pass through her. She was the one who was going to be piloting the thing. She'd never even <em>been</em> in a space ship before and now she had to fly one up to the big H that loomed in front of the moon.</p>
<p>Hell <em>fire</em>, what had she gotten herself into?</p>
<p><em>Maybe Sasha should stay behind</em>, Fiona thought as she stared at the unfamiliar instruments on the dashboard, <em>so she won't die when I accidentally crash this thing</em>.</p>
<p>"Hey, you."</p>
<p>Speak of the devil. Fiona turned in her seat to smile at her sister as Sasha climbed the ladder through the hatch, sending a warm smile back at Fiona.</p>
<p>"Hey. Can't sleep either, huh?"</p>
<p>"Nah. I keep thinking about the hundred thousand ways we might die tomorrow. Kinda makes it difficult to drift off." Sasha climbed up to the cockpit and positioned herself as comfortably as possible next to Fiona's seat, sitting on the bars separating the cockpit from the rest of the caravan-ship. She looked up through the opening of the cave to the sea of stars in the sky. "I can't believe we're actually going up there."</p>
<p>"Yeah," Fiona swallowed the anxious lump in her throat, "as long as I don't crash this thing before we even make it off the ground. Why am I the one driving this thing, again?"</p>
<p>"If anyone can make sure we don't all die in a horrible fireball, it's you, Fi. Who else would you trust to pilot this caravan? August? Finch?" She snorted loudly and grinned at Fiona. "<em>Rhys</em>?"</p>
<p>Fiona let out a loud laugh and it felt good. "Fair point. He <em>was</em> the one driving when the whole back end fell off this thing."</p>
<p>"That's the spirit!" Sasha looked up at Fiona, who smiled down at her, but Sasha didn't miss the tension she tried to hide from her face. "Hey," she took Fiona's left hand in her right one and gave it a gentle squeeze, "it's gonna be fine. It's not the journey part I'm worried about. You got this."</p>
<p>"Should be me comforting you, not the other way around," Fiona mumbled, giving a return squeeze to Sasha's hand.</p>
<p>"Older sister duties, right? Fi, you've spent your entire life looking out for me." Sasha turned to look back up at the stars again. "Even when Felix was taking care of us. It was always you doing the worrying for me, making sure I never went without for anything. It's ok to be worried and you don't have to hide it. I'm a grown woman, now," and she preened a little, tossing her hair over her shoulder with her other hand, making Fiona snort loudly.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm not sure 'baby sister' really covers it any more. But... you <em>are</em> my baby sister. I just... I don't want anything bad to happen to you."</p>
<p>"I don't want anything bad to happen to you, either. You think baby sisters don't worry about their big sisters, too? That's why we look out for each other. And you gotta admit, we do a great job of it."</p>
<p>"We do, don't we?" Fiona grinned at Sasha, feeling a little lighter than she had five minutes ago. "I would've been toast if you hadn't jumped in to stop Finch and Kroger from killing me at the dome."</p>
<p>"You would've figured something out," Sasha said fairly, before grinning back at Fiona, "but yeah, we kicked ass."</p>
<p>"We escaped <em>Athena</em>. Y'know, before we, uhh, found out she's on our side." Fiona looked up at the sky, chewing her bottom lip slightly. "I hope she's ok."</p>
<p>"Me too. Maybe we can help Janey kick some ass when we get back, if she hasn't kicked enough by herself. Kinda feel like she'd be pretty good at it, too?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, agreed. I don't know who scares me more," Fiona chuckled. "They really are a match made in heaven."</p>
<p>The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, both staring up at the sky. Fiona's stomach churned as she considered the upcoming day. Despite their life of conning people, some of them incredibly dangerous, this was easily the most dangerous quest they were likely ever going to embark on. Helios, of all places. If it had been anywhere on Pandora, they'd have been ok. Pandora was dangerous, constantly throwing threats at anyone just trying to survive on it. But Fiona and Sasha <em>had</em> survived on it, for their entire lives. They were more than equipped for whatever the planet could throw at them. But Helios was a completely unknown beast. Sure, they were going to have Rhys with them and he knew it better than anyone. However, he was going to be elsewhere in the station, disabling security and making sure Hyperion wouldn't know they'd been infiltrated. Fiona and Sasha were going to have to do a <em>lot</em> of figuring out on the job, something which put Fiona on edge. Good thing they'd had a lot of practise at improvising.</p>
<p>"Ready to get your best bullshitting face on?" Sasha asked her, as though she knew what Fiona was thinking.</p>
<p>Fiona smirked at her. "Please. Those Hyperions aren't going to know what hit them. Mainly 'cause they're not even gonna know we're not supposed to be there."</p>
<p>"There's the Fiona I know and love."</p>
<p>"I still can't believe we have to go to asshole-central. <em>Hyperion</em>, of all places. Ugh."</p>
<p>"Yeah. It's gonna be weird to see Rhys and Vaughn's origin story. They <em>voluntarily</em> went to work there. Who would do that?!"</p>
<p>"Assholes," Fiona reasoned, causing Sasha to snort. "Let's face it, Hyperion hasn't exactly been kind to our planet."</p>
<p>"Well, to be fair, they were under the rule of the biggest asshole in the universe," Sasha said darkly and Fiona nodded in agreement. "Maybe they're just slightly less asshole-y now he's thankfully gone. And, to also be fair, Rhys and Vaughn... well, they're not... awful."</p>
<p>"You can go ahead and say they're decent," Fiona grinned at her. "No-one's more surprised than me. When we first met them, I seriously wanted to push them out of the caravan."</p>
<p>"Me too," Sasha agreed quietly. "Man, you should have seen them at the deal before everything kicked off. Vaughn was kinda quiet, but Rhys put out so much bullshit, he could rival even you. All this crap to August to convince him to sell the vault key, even though it was already a done deal. Such a <em>salesman</em>."</p>
<p>"And then when they tried to steal our caravan," Fiona chuckled as she thought back to that moment, "Vaughn was straight-up just like, 'yeah, you got us' and Rhys just tried to bullshit his way right out of it!"</p>
<p>"That crap would probably work on Hyperions, but not us," Sasha said, smiling fondly. "We expected assholes when we met them. Guess we misjudged them."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but then I don't think they thought much of us when they first met us, either. 'Pandoran scum', or something like that, anyway."</p>
<p>"Yeah. Though I wonder how much of that was Rhys and Vaughn, and how much was Hyperion."</p>
<p>Fiona made a small noise of agreement. It was fair to say they'd all learned a lot on this strange quest they'd been thrown into. Mere weeks ago, Fiona would have been convinced that someone like Rhys would betray them the second they stepped foot on Hyperion's doorstep. But she knew better, now. They'd all grown unexpectantly close during their journey and she was as surprised as anyone to find that she trusted Rhys with everything. He wouldn't betray them, stab them in the back and leave them on the space station. She reasoned that Rhys and Vaughn would have had every reason to believe Fiona and Sasha would stab <em>them</em> in the back. Stranded on Pandora, blacklisted from Hyperion and with no way off the dry husk of a planet, they would have been screwed.</p>
<p>What a strange few weeks it had been.</p>
<p>"Hey. Say we don't die tomorrow. We somehow pull off this ridiculous plan, avoid death by Vallory when we get back, and get rich from a vault. It could happen!" Sasha exclaimed at the skeptical look Fiona threw at her, laughing and shrugging. "I mean, what next? Just pretend for a sec that we actually do this thing. Ten million dollars, maybe even more. What would you want to do with it?"</p>
<p>"Get off this rock?" Fiona grinned at her. "That's been the plan this whole time, right?"</p>
<p>"Sure," Sasha smiled back at her, before it faded slightly. "But... that's what <em>I've</em> wanted. I hate this place and I've never made a secret of that. But, you've always been more comfortable here than I have."</p>
<p>"Didn't have much of a choice," Fiona countered softly. "We've been stuck here our entire lives. Had to learn how this whole planet worked if we were ever gonna survive here."</p>
<p>"Ha. Yeah. Fair point. I just... I just don't want you to feel like you have to take care of me."</p>
<p>Fiona frowned at her. "Where's this come from?"</p>
<p>"Nowhere in particular," Sasha smiled reassuringly at her. "It's just that, whenever we've talked about striking it rich, it's always been 'let's use the money to get out of here', because that's all I've ever talked about. You've always looked out for me and I know that you've worked so hard to get us the big score, so we could get out of here. And... you've never had the chance to do what <em>you</em> wanted. Do you even know what you want?"</p>
<p>Fiona stared at her, at a loss for once. What had prompted this?</p>
<p>"If we do get this money, or treasure, or whatever, I know what I'm doing. There's so much out there that I want to see. Remember those old books Felix had? About all the different planets out there. I want to travel and explore and just... see what's out there. Maybe I'll finally find somewhere I love enough that I'll want to stay," Sasha continued softly. "I think... it's time you thought about yourself, Fi. About what you really want out of all this."</p>
<p><em>I want you to be safe</em>, she thought, but Sasha was right. Her baby sister was twenty-four years old, now. The number of dangerous situations they'd found themselves in before, and Sasha had always, always been able to hold her own, even when things had turned south.</p>
<p>"I guess... I'd never really given it much thought," Fiona conceded quietly. "Too busy trying to plan everything, to make sure it all goes off without a hitch. Well, as much as possible, anyway."</p>
<p>"Well, just, think about it. There's an actual possibility that we <em>might</em> be ok after this. I don't want to hold you back from doing something you'd love."</p>
<p>"Sasha, you could <em>never</em> hold me back," Fiona found Sasha's hand again and she just held it tightly. "You never have. I love you, you dope," and she grinned at Sasha. "Everything, <em>everything</em> has been worth it. I promise I'll think about it. But, whatever goes down, and all the stuff that has gone down, I couldn't ask for a better sister to do it all with."</p>
<p>"Same right back at you," Sasha squeezed Fiona's hand, smiling freely for the first time in days. "And we <em>will</em> be ok. Vallory and her useless goons aren't gonna stop us from busting open this vault and doing whatever the hell we want with our lives. Like... hey, what about vault-hunting?" Sasha looked at Fiona, wide-eyed and excited. "I mean, we're about to open one, but there are so many more out there!"</p>
<p>Fiona snorted loudly. "I appreciate the confidence, Sash," she chuckled, before becoming serious, "and, honestly, I can't say I haven't considered it. In passing. But, honestly? I don't know if I'm cut out for it."</p>
<p>"You kidding? You fought off <em>two</em> vault hunters with Athena. Athena told us she would train us... but it's <em>you</em> she chose to take with her through the dome. She saw something in you, Fi. I see it, too. You're tougher than you give yourself credit for."</p>
<p>"... Huh." Fiona stared at the stars for a moment, feeling suddenly and oddly giddy at the prospect. Then turned to her sister, smiling warmly. "Thanks, Sasha."</p>
<p>"Love you too, you dope," Sasha smiled back. "Let's just... get through whatever tomorrow throws at us. We got this."</p>
<p>"We got this," Fiona agreed, feigning confidence. She squeezed Sasha's hand one last time. "C'mon. We're gonna be stuck in this caravan for a while tomorrow. Let's grab a hot drink. If we can't sleep, we might as well enjoy these last few hours while we can."</p>
<p>"Sounds like a plan. You're buying, right?"</p>
<p>"Don't I always?" Fiona asked dryly, causing Sasha to giggle as they began to climb down the ladder.</p>
<p>Fiona felt lighter than she had done in days. They'd be ok. Somehow. They'd face whatever tomorrow decided to throw at them, together.</p>
<p>And kick its ass.</p>
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